Crab Stuffed Baked Potatoes

My cookbook collection is vast.

It runs the gamut: eccentric, religious, homestyle, professional…

Last year, I tried separating the shelves of my cookbooks by types of cuisine. There’s French, Italian, Vegan, Paleo and Southwestern. I have rows dedicated to Texas and Oklahoma cookbooks. The top shelf is for my most prized cookbooks (Salvador Dali’s, an 1888 White House Cookbook, and Vincent Price’s, to name a few).

One shelf that is packed full is my Cajun and Creole cookbook shelf. I’ve got everything from River Road Recipes I & II (quintessential for Cajun cooks) to little known, retro throwbacks like the Art of Creole cookery.

I thumb through my Cajun cookbooks frequently, especially this time of year. Mardi Gras was last week, so I set out to make something different from my collection. I found this crab stuffed potato recipe in a spiral bound Louisiana cookbook that had lost its last few pages. The recipe called to me, and I knew I had to make it.

I’m glad I did—this recipe is delightful! The potatoes are extremely rich and filling, so they can be served as an entree. I think this was originally meant to be a side dish, but I made them for dinner instead.

Make sure you use real crab meat and not imitation for this recipe. Trust me, I’m not a crab snob. I love imitation crab meat and it has its place in the kitchen…just not in this recipe.

I bought crab claw meat in a can and it was wonderful. It’s a little on the pricey side since I live in a landlocked state, but it’s well worth it. Make sure you drain and pick through the meat, though, because little bits of shell can still slip through the packaging process.

I had no idea what “garlic cheese roll” was in this recipe, so I used some garlic and herb Alouette cheese (similar to Boursin) and I recommend you do as well. It’s creamy and garlicky and goes well in the mashed potato portion of this dish.

Enjoy!